7 Awesome Facts About Teddy Roosevelt Terriers You Need to Know

Teddy Roosevelt Terriers are famously named after one of America’s most beloved presidents. However, they bring much more to the table than simple name recognition. To find out what else makes these dogs special, let’s go over the following 7 awesome facts about the Teddy Roosevelt Terrier.

1. The closest cousin of this breed is the Rat Terrier

If you see Teddies refered to as “Teddy Roosevelt Rar Terrier” don’t worry – that’s no accident. These dogs are indeed technically an off-shoot of the rat terrier breed – the two breeds were just selected into two separate strains in the early 20th century. Teddies were bred to have shorter legs whereas standard Rat Terriers have long and elegant legs instead.

The reason Teddies are called that way is pretty obvious – they were named as such in honor of President Teddy Roosevelt. Funnily enough, there is no evidence that Teddy Roosevelt ever owned such a terrier. He was known to have several dogs including a few ratters that helped keep the White House clear of pests but those dogs were described as Fox Terriers, Manchester Terriers, and others.

Nevertheless, even if Teddy Roosevelt never owned a short-legged Rat Terrier, there’s nothing wrong with honoring Teddy Roosevelt with a dog breed that’s quite close to the ones he seems to have loved anyway.

2. As you’d expect from a terrier breed, Terries are highly energetic and need lots of exercise

Teddies may be small and short-legged by they have energy to spare. These dogs are born to chase down and hunt things so they need lots of run time every day. This means a minimum of two 30-minute walks a day – if you can make them longer then that’d be even better.

Despite their small size, Teddies are great jogging companions and are very fun to play fetch with at the dog park. Just make sure not to over-exercise them – they are still a relatively small dog breed.

As for yard time, that’s not strictly necessary but if you do have a yard, it will be beneficial. A couple of hours of yard time in addition to the two daily walks will ensure that your pet really is adequately exercised. Just make sure that your yard is properly fenced and that your dog can’t dig under the fence – terriers’ hunting instincts are pretty strong.

If you don’t have a yard, don’t worry - Teddy Roosevelt terriers can be decent apartment dogs. Just make sure to give them enough exercise on their two daily walks as well as quite a bit of playtime in the living room every day.

3. The Teddy Roosevelt Terrier is seen as a one-person dog but can do quite well in large families too

Terriers are rarely seen as “social” but that’s a bit of a misconception. It’s true that Teddies tend to get extra attached to one family member but that doesn’t mean that they won’t still love all other members of a larger family. As long as they are treated with love, Teddy Roosevelt Terriers will happily give love back to as many people there are in your home, kids included.

Of course, as the overactive dogs that they are, they will need some training and supervision for interacting with kids, but that’s nothing out of the ordinary. Teddies can even get along with other dogs and even cats better than most terriers, as long as they’ve been introduced and socialized with them properly.

As for strangers – there Teddies will need quite a bit of socialization from an early age. Without it, they can get quite loud and yappy toward anyone they meet which isn’t great, unless, of course, you’re specifically looking for a watchdog. Then, unsocialized Teddies can work great! Still, we would recommend proper socialization as we do for any other pet.

4. Training is a must with these terriers but it’s also quite time-consuming

Every dog needs to go through basic obedience training and Teddy Roosevelt Terriers are no exception. In fact, given their hyperactive energy levels, strong prey drive, and watchdog tendencies, they need obedience training more than many other breeds.

This need does clash with their terrier nature, however, in that Teddies aren’t the easiest dogs to train. They aren’t necessarily harder than other terrier breeds – quite on par with them, in fact – but if you’ve ever raised and trained a terrier, you know how stubborn these dogs can get.

That stubbornness isn’t a bug, of course, it’s a feature. Terriers, especially rat terriers, were bred much like scent hounds – to be willful, driven, and to follow their noses and prey drive unapologetically and with no distraction. This differentiates them from other hunting breeds that were selected around the idea of cooperation and following commands. Terrier and scent hounds, on the other hand, were specifically bred not to care about commands and to just follow their noses.

All this made them phenomenal hunters but it also makes them a bit tricky to train as pets. So, is training your Teddy impossible? Of course not. However, it will take a bit longer on average compared to training shepherd or retriever breeds.

That’s why terrier breeds are often not recommended for first-time dog owners – it’s not that you can’t own and train such a dog, it’s that you’d want to be really well prepared for the job.

5. Do beware of separation anxiety

For some reason, many people think that terriers don’t suffer from separation anxiety as much as other breeds. That’s not at all the case. Terriers are both social, lovable, smart, and hyperactive enough to not tolerate being left home alone for extended periods of time. So, if you don’t want your furniture destroyed by the time you’re home from work, you’d need to take separation anxiety into account.

What does this mean?

For one, it’s smart to just not get such a dog if you know you’re going to have to leave it alone for too long. But if you absolutely have to do so every once in while, it’s best to either have someone else at home or at least give your dog all the exercise and attention it needs before you leave.

6. This terrier is very easy to groom and maintain

Terries are a double-coated breed and as such, they are seasonal shedders. However, they really don’t shed all that much on or off season. So, all you need to do is remember to brush them once every few days, bathe them once a month, maintain good eye and ear cleanliness, clip their nails every once In a while, and brush their teeth once a week – all things you’d want to do with any other breed anyway.

Do that and your Teddy Roosevelt Terrier will have excellent dental health, no paw issues, a gorgeous, shiny, and well-kept coat, and will barely shed at all. As for their color, Teddies can come in multiple bi-color combinations, usually with white as their base. The accompanying colors can include black, blue, fawn, lemon, red, sable, silver, apricot, chocolate, and blue fawn.

7. Teddies have a very long average lifespan as long as you watch out for the few conditions they sometimes suffer from

A healthy Teddy Roosevelt Rat Terrier can live up to 15 to 16 years on average or even more if it’s taken care of properly. This is pretty excellent even for their small size. To make sure that your dog reaches or even exceeds that average, however, you’d do well to make sure that the pup you get comes with a hereditary and a health certificate.

If the breeder you’re dealing with refuses to give you either of those certificates and/or denies you a meeting with the pup’s parents and litter, then you’re probably dealing with a puppy mill or a pet store. In that case, it’s wise to walk away as such breeders’ pups are usually not bred properly and come with various hereditary conditions. You should, in particular, look out for stuff such as Patellar Luxation, eye diseases, and heart problems.

Even if you adopt you can still ask for the dog’s medical info. From there, it’s all a matter of taking good care of your dog – quality food, plenty of exercise, proper grooming, mental stimulation, and routine vet check-ups are all necessary if you want your dog to live its best life.

In conclusion, Teddies are a pretty great family pet for almost all families and circumstances. Both outdoorsy and indoorsy types of people can have a Teddy Roosevelt Terrier as long as they meet its exercise needs. Families of all types and sizes can also have such a dog with standard socialization and obedience training being enough to make this breed pretty well-mannered.

Do keep in mind that this is a terrier, of course. This means a very strong prey drive, a bit of stubbornness in training, and a definite need for socialization.